Great-Aunt Clara Irene Pace Tragically Taken by Meningitis at 15 Years Old

This post is my 29th entry in Amy Johnson Crow’s “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” family history blogging challenge for 2015. My 29th ancestor is my husband’s Great-Aunt Clara Irene Pace (1917-1933). Clara Irene, who went just by Irene, was the sister of my husband’s grandfather Roy Delmar Pace.

About Clara Irene Pace

I have mentioned Irene in my last two posts about this family, first profiling Grandpa Roy and the family in the 1930 U.S. census, and then tracing the Pace siblings in the 1940 U.S. census. Irene was the only Pace sibling absent from the 1940 census, because she had died by that time, although that information cannot be inferred from the census.

Birth Date & Place

Irene Pace was born 24 September 1917 in Mesquite, Dallas County, Texas to Andrew Jackson Pace and Laura Mae “May” Fields. Clara Irene is the oldest child of theirs for whom I have found a birth certificate.¹

This birth certificate tells us that Irene, a female, was the third child born to this mother, all of whom were still living. The first child would be Grandpa Roy, the second is the oldest daughter Dollie. Parents A.J. [Andrew Jackson] Pace (40 years old, born in Alabama) and [Laura Mae] May Fields (21 years old, born in Texas) were both white and lived in Mesquite, Dallas County, Texas. Roy worked as a farmer, May as a housewife.

Do you notice what this birth certificate does not tell us about Irene?…her name. The name of the child was left completely blank. It is quite possible that Andrew Jackson and Laura Mae had not yet decided upon a name when this baby girl was born–I find the similar situation on other birth records for the family.

So how do I know this is Irene? I won’t go into the full proof argument here, but the date of birth is identical to the one listed on Irene’s death certificate (her father was the informant).³ The 1917 birth year is in agreement with the estimated birth year (1918) on the 1930 U.S. census, as is the birth order (the third child) and the gender (female).⁴

Unfortunately, I do not find an amended birth certificate reflecting a later filed name correction.

Childhood

Irene grew up in a farming family, who seemed to move around quite a bit. Born and initially raised in northeastern Texas, the family up and moved across the state to the northwestern part of Texas sometime between 1924 and 1928.

Hunt County, Texas

Father Andrew Jackson Pace registered at age 42 for the World War I draft, on 12 September 1918 in Wolfe City, Hunt County, Texas. His draft registration card lists wife Laura Mae as his nearest relative, with the family living in nearby Campbell, Hunt County, Texas. ⁶ Campbell is located in eastern Texas, about 60 miles northeast of where Irene was born in Mesquite. Irene would have been just under one-year of age at this time.

Younger brother Genoa “Leo” Jackson’s 1924 birth certificate provides evidence that family still resided in Campbell, Hunt County, Texas when little Irene was six years old–although Leo was actually born in the bigger city of Commerce. Andrew Jackson continued to farm, and Laura Mae continued to keep house.⁷

Lamb County, Texas

By the time brother Earnest Ladell Pace (who went by Ladell, then later by Dale) was born in 1928, the family had moved to Littlefield, Lamb County, Texas, when Irene was 11 years old. This brought the total number of siblings to eight. Ladell’s birth certificate confirms that Laura Mae had given birth to eight children, all of whom were still living. Andrew Jackson continued farming; Laura Mae continued keeping house.⁸ Littlefield is approximtely 415 miles west and slightly north of Campbell.

Hockley County, Texas

On 14 April 1930, the family of ten was enumerated on the 1930 U.S. census, living in Justice Precinct 6, Hockley County, Texas. They lived on a rented farm. Father Andrew Jackson worked as farmer, and mother Laura May “May” kept house. Irene (at 12 years old), is noted as attending school, as are her older brother Roy, older sister Dollie, and younger brother Huland.⁹

The family was living in either Littlefield, Lamb County, Texas again or Levelland, Hockley County, Texas, when brother Charles Wayne Pace was born in 1931. It is unclear which was the actual location of residence, although it is clear that Wayne was born in Levelland. Wayne’s original birth certificate claims the family lived in Littlefield, but an amended birth certificate filed in 1942 by father Andrew Jackson Pace in Hockley County says the family lived in Levelland at the time of the birth. The amended certificate indicates that Andrew Jackson was farming on his own farm by 1931.¹⁰, ¹¹ Levelland is 24 miles due south of Littlefield.

In the 2014 obituary for Irene’s older sister Dollie, this area around southern Lamb County and northern Hockley County is referred to as “the Oklahoma Flats,” where the family farmed. The area is described as near Littlefield, but Dollie–and I assume her school age siblings, like Irene–attended school in Whitharral, Texas, an unincorporated community in Hockley County.¹²

A Horrible Illness

On 2 March 1933, the local paper–the (Littlefield) Lamb County Leader–printed a very brief update in its Personals column on page 2, advising that “Miss Irene Pace, who has been confined to the Lubbock Sanitarium for the past two weeks with meningitis, is much better, and has returned home.”¹³

What does this news brief tell us about Irene?

• She and her family, by 2 March 1933, lived near Littlefield, Lamb County, Texas.
• Irene was admitted mid-February to the Lubbock Sanitarium due to meningitis.
• By 2 March 1933, she experienced a significant enough recovery to be sent home.

Death

Despite what appeared to be a strong enough recovery for Irene to go home, her condition took a fatal turn for the worse within a couple of weeks. Great-Aunt Clara Irene Pace died on 19 March 1933, at the young age of 15 years, 5 months, and 28 days. The local Lamb County Leader newspaper reports on Irene’s death and funeral services. She died in the hospital, so it appears she had to return when her condition turned for the worse. A funeral took place in the local school auditorium in Whitharral, and she was buried in Whitharral Cemetery.¹⁵ Lubbock Sanitarium was the first hospital in the city of Lubbock, Lubbock County Texas.¹⁶

Towards the bottom of the newspaper article, we can see that Irene’s mother, Laura Mae Fields, had been hospitalized the same day as Irene for the same illness, but died earlier on 21 February 1933.²

The death certificate for Clara Irene Pace confirms the aforementioned date, place, and cause of Irene’s death.

What additional information does this death certificate tell us about Irene and her family?

• Irene was still a student when she died, and she was single.
• She had been in the hospital since 15 February 1933.
• Her father A.J. [Andrew Jackson] Pace–born in Alabama, now living in Littlefield, Texas–served as the informant.
• Her mother May [Laura Mae] Fields had been born in Van Zandt [County], Texas, according to Irene’s father.
• Her father reported that Irene had been born in Dallas County, Texas.
• Irene was buried on 30 March 1933 in Whitharral, Texas.

Cause of Death

Irene Pace’s death certificate reports cerebral-spinal meningitis as the principal cause of death, with an abscess of the brain being a contributing factor. Meningitis is something we hear about every so often still in the U.S. (with current outbreaks still happening), but of which I know nothing. So I did some quick research on the causes of Irene’s early death.

Spinal Meningitis

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide a description about the disease and its possible causes.

Meningitis is a disease caused by the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord known as the meninges. The inflammation is usually caused by an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Meningitis may develop in response to a number of causes, usually bacteria or viruses, but meningitis can also be caused by physical injury, cancer or certain drugs.²⁰

Brain Abscess

Irene also suffered from an abscess of the brain. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), “A brain abscess is a collection of pus, immune cells, and other material in the brain, usually from a bacterial or fungal infection.”²¹ The NIH classifies a brain abscess as a medical emergency, and describes, “meningitis that is severe and life threatening” as one of its possible complications.²

Burial

Irene’s death certificate states that she was buried 20 March 1933 in Whitharral, Hockley County, Texas, and that Hamman’s Funeral home in nearby Littlefield, Lamb County, Texas served as undertakers.¹⁹ The newspaper article reporting her death specifies Whitharral Cemetery as the place of internment.¹⁷ Find A Grave also has an entry for Irene at Whitharral Cemetery, although it is missing specific dates for birth and death.²⁵

Next Steps

How did Irene and her mother contract meningitis?

Sources